haha aww.
now i feel gay.
kids love hardware stores!! but not as much as i do.
edit--haha oh god. worst top post EVER.
west of philly - bob
-
slapdash21
- Futureless
- Posts: 4681
- Joined: 29 Sep 2004 14:50
- Location: Beantown, kidd
nice top of page post pete! i'd expect nothing less! ha ha
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Just had a physical. It's been YEARS since I had one. Doctor was very happy with my weight loss, muscle mass etc. Overall said he felt I was extremely healthy and in great shape. Although, he wants me to try for another 5-10 pounds of weight loss - he agrees that my body type (specifically thick muscular legs) will make it tricky to burn off 10 more pounds, he wants me to try. He gave me a few slight diet mods, and wants me to incorporate a bike ride into my weekly exercise. He noted that all my cardio (basketball and footbag namely) are explosive, therefore creating thicker legs in my case. He thought jogging or bike riding would help me lengthen the muscles. I'm paraphrasing, but it makes sense. I'm not freaking running though. Biking it is.
The wife and I agreed to try a "month with no alcohol". We already have cut way back, but still drink every weekend. There's really no need to do so, so we thought we'd kick it off by going for a month straight. I think we'll start the weekend after Halloween. I'll bet I drop 5 pounds just in those 4 weeks.
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Just had a physical. It's been YEARS since I had one. Doctor was very happy with my weight loss, muscle mass etc. Overall said he felt I was extremely healthy and in great shape. Although, he wants me to try for another 5-10 pounds of weight loss - he agrees that my body type (specifically thick muscular legs) will make it tricky to burn off 10 more pounds, he wants me to try. He gave me a few slight diet mods, and wants me to incorporate a bike ride into my weekly exercise. He noted that all my cardio (basketball and footbag namely) are explosive, therefore creating thicker legs in my case. He thought jogging or bike riding would help me lengthen the muscles. I'm paraphrasing, but it makes sense. I'm not freaking running though. Biking it is.
The wife and I agreed to try a "month with no alcohol". We already have cut way back, but still drink every weekend. There's really no need to do so, so we thought we'd kick it off by going for a month straight. I think we'll start the weekend after Halloween. I'll bet I drop 5 pounds just in those 4 weeks.
Bob R.
cold in the barn last night, time for me to setup heat tent for the year again. It'll be a much nicer heat tent than last year's version.
Anyhow, kicked last night. Was totally wiped out so I had possibly the most worthless session ever. I think it lasted like 25 minutes worth of yuck. But I got out there, and sometimes that worth something even if you don't get a great workout etc.
Anyhow, kicked last night. Was totally wiped out so I had possibly the most worthless session ever. I think it lasted like 25 minutes worth of yuck. But I got out there, and sometimes that worth something even if you don't get a great workout etc.
Bob R.
damn I'm tired. Stayed up to watch the world series. Phillies are making stupid mistakes so far. They won game 1, but still made stupid mistakes. In game 2, mistakes caught up with them and they lost. Frustrating. Could have won that game. Umpire's bad calls didn't help either. Back to Philly for a couple games now.
worked drifter, swirls, and stepping/blurry last night in the barn. Had to turn on the propane heater because it was cold. Had some coffee at like 6 p.m., played at 8 p.m. The coffee really helped my energy level. I don't usually need it, but end of week practices are sometimes low on energy.
Going to put up the final "wall" (I'll use plastic sheeting over wood frame) of my shred tent tonight. Will make it much easier to heat my playing space than it was last night. Shred tent is much nicer than last year's version. Better floor, nicer walls, better lighting. Still, I can't wait to have the barn renovation under way in the spring so I have a really nice room to exercise in.
worked drifter, swirls, and stepping/blurry last night in the barn. Had to turn on the propane heater because it was cold. Had some coffee at like 6 p.m., played at 8 p.m. The coffee really helped my energy level. I don't usually need it, but end of week practices are sometimes low on energy.
Going to put up the final "wall" (I'll use plastic sheeting over wood frame) of my shred tent tonight. Will make it much easier to heat my playing space than it was last night. Shred tent is much nicer than last year's version. Better floor, nicer walls, better lighting. Still, I can't wait to have the barn renovation under way in the spring so I have a really nice room to exercise in.
Bob R.
friday night:
Got killed by boss for some total bullshit - and of course he did it right at the end of the day to ruin my night. Behind the scenes, owner of the company is on my side and has my back, so I think it will work out, but still, I went home in the worst mood ever.
So, I wanted to "accomplish" something at home. So I finished my shred heat tent after I put the kids down to bed. I'm really happy with my winter shred spot now. It's so rustic, but it's well lit, good playing surface, and will retain enough heat that I should be able to play in shorts (rather than leggings, with shorts over them [else I feel so lame]) all winter. This year's version is SOOO much nicer than last year's.
Saturday:
still was in the "need to accomplish something" mindset. Played with kids in the morning, and then switched the guest room and the play room. The play room was previously the smaller of the two rooms. So we switched them because we rarely have overnight guests (so room doesn't need to be big) but always use the play room. Kids were really happy about that.
fixed a lamp.
yikes, I'm needy for projects it looks like. The lamp was really really far down my list of things to do.
kicked in heat tent, had a pretty good day. whatever
later, mother in law came over once kids were asleep for the night, and meg and I went to the bar to watch the Phillies for awhile. It was fun. Good band too. I had a yummy pumpkin ale amongst several other types.
sunday:
wife was gone all morning and early afternoon watching our nephew's football game. kids and I stayed home together because it was a long drive and I didn't want to waste a day on it. we went to the pet store to look at the fish (kids think we're at the aquarium.. easily impressed) and did some other fun daddy stops. I built them a great fort in the living room out of pillows and blankets. just generally chilled.
cleaned up an old table and put it in keegan's room for him to draw on etc. his sister is too into everything, so she ruins it when he tries to color when she's around. So this is just his own space where he can do 'big boy' activities without her bothering him. he was really happy about that.
after kids were down for the night, watched the phillies. Fell asleep in the 7th, but the lead was comfortable, so no biggie.
Got killed by boss for some total bullshit - and of course he did it right at the end of the day to ruin my night. Behind the scenes, owner of the company is on my side and has my back, so I think it will work out, but still, I went home in the worst mood ever.
So, I wanted to "accomplish" something at home. So I finished my shred heat tent after I put the kids down to bed. I'm really happy with my winter shred spot now. It's so rustic, but it's well lit, good playing surface, and will retain enough heat that I should be able to play in shorts (rather than leggings, with shorts over them [else I feel so lame]) all winter. This year's version is SOOO much nicer than last year's.
Saturday:
still was in the "need to accomplish something" mindset. Played with kids in the morning, and then switched the guest room and the play room. The play room was previously the smaller of the two rooms. So we switched them because we rarely have overnight guests (so room doesn't need to be big) but always use the play room. Kids were really happy about that.
fixed a lamp.
yikes, I'm needy for projects it looks like. The lamp was really really far down my list of things to do.
kicked in heat tent, had a pretty good day. whatever
later, mother in law came over once kids were asleep for the night, and meg and I went to the bar to watch the Phillies for awhile. It was fun. Good band too. I had a yummy pumpkin ale amongst several other types.
sunday:
wife was gone all morning and early afternoon watching our nephew's football game. kids and I stayed home together because it was a long drive and I didn't want to waste a day on it. we went to the pet store to look at the fish (kids think we're at the aquarium.. easily impressed) and did some other fun daddy stops. I built them a great fort in the living room out of pillows and blankets. just generally chilled.
cleaned up an old table and put it in keegan's room for him to draw on etc. his sister is too into everything, so she ruins it when he tries to color when she's around. So this is just his own space where he can do 'big boy' activities without her bothering him. he was really happy about that.
after kids were down for the night, watched the phillies. Fell asleep in the 7th, but the lead was comfortable, so no biggie.
Bob R.
Freaking rain, suspended world series.. Shit, Phillies were looking like they were going to win. Hopefully no lost momentum.
Heat shred tent in the barn (more like a heat shred room.. it's about 12 x 12 feet square) seems to be working great. It was 47 degrees F in the barn when I went out. With my propane heater on the low setting, I got the room to 60 degrees within a few minutes. Was able to comfortably play in shorts and a t-shirt.
Had a good practice. Felt fast and light on my feet.
I can torque on my strong side now. Not on my weakside yet, but it'll come along. Anything involving an in-out dex on my weakside always takes longer.
I can hit drifter on weakside, midrun, about 7 out of 10 now. That's a big improvement. I'm just about ready to call that dialed. Weak DLO is just about there too. Also a big improvement.
Weak stepping set is much better. I rarely miss the basics (ripwalk, stepping ss legover, blur etc.) at this point, and the pop is getting there which makes the stepping dex much cleaner than in the past. Strong stepping is pretty great at this point, popping up the set past my waist regularly.
Did a lot of pixie shuffle type of stuff and that it really getting comfortable too. The weakside vs. strongside distinction is still there, but the gap is closing quickly.
Hit weakside blur > strongside atomic mirage. That's a hard combo for me, so I was happy with that.
I've done a lot (a LOT) of osis practice lately. It's helped.
Did a fair number of symple swirls too. I think regular swirls aren't worth the effort right now, so I'm not focusing on that for awhile. My body just isn't ready to understand it unless I do it symposium style. I did figure out to keep the ball under me a bit more for a cleaner more balanced dex.
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Emi's baptism is this weekend. I'm not really religious at all, but I can see the value in having exposure to the church comunity. My wife thinks that's important too, so she's pretty much leading the way on the effort. I'll go to church once in awhile to show support. Anyhow, entire family is coming in this weekend for the baptism and after-party. They'll actually be here for halloween, so that will be a really fun weekend. Keegan is going to be spiderman, and hopefully we can find a wonder woman costume that fits Emi. Otherwise she'll just be something cute like a bumble bee.
----
After the baptism weekend (so, Monday night November 3rd) we are beginning our 4 weeks of "health blitz". Which really amounts to about 4 weeks of no alcohol at all (we'll end that at Thanksgiving weekend) and to just focusing on eating like we already eat, and adding a little more exercise to our weeks (like 5 days of footbag per week, and 4 days of working out.. vs. current 4 and 3 days respectively). My hope is to lose 5 pounds during the blitz month to reach my doctor's (and my) goal of weighing 195. At 195, I'm skinnnnnnnnny. So I'm looking forward to all of that. I suspect that afterwards, we'll feel so good that alcohol may permanently take a back burner for us. Not that we won't ever drink, I just don't think we'll regularly buy a case each weekend. That's my hope at least. We shall see.
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My small business idea is developing nicely. I have a good chunk of my business plan written down. I've done a ton of research, including market research, pricing research, materials research, start up processes (insurance, incorporating, taxes etc.). I feel like with such a low overhead approach to starting the business (it will cost me about $100 to do phase 1... phase 1 will produce enough income to move to phase 2.. etc.) this is a great no-risk method of trying to build something.
If average product price is $40, and you build to the point where you can sell (say) 500 products per year (which is only about 9 sales per week) that's $20,000 in sales. Profit margin is very high in the model that I'm doing. Now, realistically, year 1 will probably amount to 100 sales. But still, that's $4000 in sales for a hobby.
Heat shred tent in the barn (more like a heat shred room.. it's about 12 x 12 feet square) seems to be working great. It was 47 degrees F in the barn when I went out. With my propane heater on the low setting, I got the room to 60 degrees within a few minutes. Was able to comfortably play in shorts and a t-shirt.
Had a good practice. Felt fast and light on my feet.
I can torque on my strong side now. Not on my weakside yet, but it'll come along. Anything involving an in-out dex on my weakside always takes longer.
I can hit drifter on weakside, midrun, about 7 out of 10 now. That's a big improvement. I'm just about ready to call that dialed. Weak DLO is just about there too. Also a big improvement.
Weak stepping set is much better. I rarely miss the basics (ripwalk, stepping ss legover, blur etc.) at this point, and the pop is getting there which makes the stepping dex much cleaner than in the past. Strong stepping is pretty great at this point, popping up the set past my waist regularly.
Did a lot of pixie shuffle type of stuff and that it really getting comfortable too. The weakside vs. strongside distinction is still there, but the gap is closing quickly.
Hit weakside blur > strongside atomic mirage. That's a hard combo for me, so I was happy with that.
I've done a lot (a LOT) of osis practice lately. It's helped.
Did a fair number of symple swirls too. I think regular swirls aren't worth the effort right now, so I'm not focusing on that for awhile. My body just isn't ready to understand it unless I do it symposium style. I did figure out to keep the ball under me a bit more for a cleaner more balanced dex.
---
Emi's baptism is this weekend. I'm not really religious at all, but I can see the value in having exposure to the church comunity. My wife thinks that's important too, so she's pretty much leading the way on the effort. I'll go to church once in awhile to show support. Anyhow, entire family is coming in this weekend for the baptism and after-party. They'll actually be here for halloween, so that will be a really fun weekend. Keegan is going to be spiderman, and hopefully we can find a wonder woman costume that fits Emi. Otherwise she'll just be something cute like a bumble bee.
----
After the baptism weekend (so, Monday night November 3rd) we are beginning our 4 weeks of "health blitz". Which really amounts to about 4 weeks of no alcohol at all (we'll end that at Thanksgiving weekend) and to just focusing on eating like we already eat, and adding a little more exercise to our weeks (like 5 days of footbag per week, and 4 days of working out.. vs. current 4 and 3 days respectively). My hope is to lose 5 pounds during the blitz month to reach my doctor's (and my) goal of weighing 195. At 195, I'm skinnnnnnnnny. So I'm looking forward to all of that. I suspect that afterwards, we'll feel so good that alcohol may permanently take a back burner for us. Not that we won't ever drink, I just don't think we'll regularly buy a case each weekend. That's my hope at least. We shall see.
----
My small business idea is developing nicely. I have a good chunk of my business plan written down. I've done a ton of research, including market research, pricing research, materials research, start up processes (insurance, incorporating, taxes etc.). I feel like with such a low overhead approach to starting the business (it will cost me about $100 to do phase 1... phase 1 will produce enough income to move to phase 2.. etc.) this is a great no-risk method of trying to build something.
If average product price is $40, and you build to the point where you can sell (say) 500 products per year (which is only about 9 sales per week) that's $20,000 in sales. Profit margin is very high in the model that I'm doing. Now, realistically, year 1 will probably amount to 100 sales. But still, that's $4000 in sales for a hobby.
Bob R.
I highly recommend spending a whole session on spins and ducks/dives while listening to either Greg Brown or Ray LaMontagne. Most relaxing, mind clearing session I've had in a long time. Honestly left the barn with a smile afterwards.
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Ever had a nice surprise that's not really a big deal, but feels like such a big deal?
When we moved into our current house 3 years ago, I somehow "lost" my entire sweatshirt collection. That collection included the following amazing hoodies:
- 2 different color lifeguard sweatshirts from when I worked as a lifeguard in highschool/college
- Susquehanna University sweatshirt from college
- University of Oregon sweatshirt (when I was researching grad school, U of O was on my list.. I ultimately did not go there, but as a graduation present, my wife and I took an amazing vacation to Oregon.. during the trip, we stopped at the school and bought the sweatshirt in the student shop.. so this wasn't any bullshit mail order sweatshirt.. this was a "travel across the country, buy it where the students buy it" authentic purchase)
- Chilly Philly "U. Shred" sweatshirt.
Now, I know I'm making a big deal about a bunch of sweatshirts, but these are all IMPORTANT sweatshirts. Hoodies with memories. God, I've posted numerous times trying to get my hands on one of the Chilly Philly sweatshirts (with no luck). And the lifeguard sweatshirts? Man, those represent my young adulthood. The Oregon sweatshirt? Represents my best vacation, and my reward for completing my MBA! Susquehanna hoody? My college years.
All gone for the last 3 years.
So, my mother in law comes over the other night and was like "Bob, in the back of my car is a big suitcase full of winter clothes of yours and meg's. I think you were storing it at my house around the time that you moved, but I don't have room for it anymore, will you take them back now?"
I excitedly start making mental connections, and remembering the suitcase in question. I quickly throw on my shoes and sprint to the car like a kid running to the christmas tree on the 25th of December. I can't contain my excitement so I open the suitcase in the driveway.
AND THERE ARE MY FREAKING SWEATSHIRTS!!!!!!
---
Ever had a nice surprise that's not really a big deal, but feels like such a big deal?
When we moved into our current house 3 years ago, I somehow "lost" my entire sweatshirt collection. That collection included the following amazing hoodies:
- 2 different color lifeguard sweatshirts from when I worked as a lifeguard in highschool/college
- Susquehanna University sweatshirt from college
- University of Oregon sweatshirt (when I was researching grad school, U of O was on my list.. I ultimately did not go there, but as a graduation present, my wife and I took an amazing vacation to Oregon.. during the trip, we stopped at the school and bought the sweatshirt in the student shop.. so this wasn't any bullshit mail order sweatshirt.. this was a "travel across the country, buy it where the students buy it" authentic purchase)
- Chilly Philly "U. Shred" sweatshirt.
Now, I know I'm making a big deal about a bunch of sweatshirts, but these are all IMPORTANT sweatshirts. Hoodies with memories. God, I've posted numerous times trying to get my hands on one of the Chilly Philly sweatshirts (with no luck). And the lifeguard sweatshirts? Man, those represent my young adulthood. The Oregon sweatshirt? Represents my best vacation, and my reward for completing my MBA! Susquehanna hoody? My college years.
All gone for the last 3 years.
So, my mother in law comes over the other night and was like "Bob, in the back of my car is a big suitcase full of winter clothes of yours and meg's. I think you were storing it at my house around the time that you moved, but I don't have room for it anymore, will you take them back now?"
I excitedly start making mental connections, and remembering the suitcase in question. I quickly throw on my shoes and sprint to the car like a kid running to the christmas tree on the 25th of December. I can't contain my excitement so I open the suitcase in the driveway.
AND THERE ARE MY FREAKING SWEATSHIRTS!!!!!!
Bob R.
Heat tent is great. Last night I was smart enough to start the heater 15 minutes before I went out to play. On the low setting, it took the room from 40 degrees F to 60 degrees F by the time I was out there to play. Great lighting, don't feel cramped for space at all, the platform is comfortable to play on (plywood platform, rubber exercise mat, carpet), I bring out the ipod and dock. It's great. I'll enjoy playing there all winter.
Worked atomic. I really need to be careful on my weakside as the motion causes my trick-neck to tighten up. I can see why on video, but it's not ready to be fixed. So, I only give it about 10 reps on weakside each time I practice atomic. On strongside, no such problem so I gave it a decent number of reps. Keep the set foot close to the ground, and close to the dex leg. High knee during dex. Exagerate the inward motion of the dex a little.
Worked spins some more too. Get the set foot down quickly, and get it down very close to other foot (keep footwork tight = better balance). Get head turning quickly. The leading shoulder (the one that goes "into" the spin first) feels like it dips when I do a good spin - I think I'm actually just staying nice and straight, but concentrating on that dip with the shoulder feel was helpful. Set the ball with lower leg, keep knee of that leg pinned in place and tight to support leg.
----
Before kicking, carved a pumpkin with the kids for halloween. they had a lot of fun doing that. Pumpkin turned out really great actually. Those little carving tools that they sell really work. Keegan said his favorite part was "pulling the guts out" of the pumpkin.
My mom, dad, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma, best friend will all be at my house by the time I'm home from work tonight. Wife and I, and sister and best friend will do trick or treating with the kids while the "elders" stay at my place to hand out candy to neighborhood kids. Just hanging out tomorrow with all of them. Emi's baptism on Sunday. Fun weekend.
Worked atomic. I really need to be careful on my weakside as the motion causes my trick-neck to tighten up. I can see why on video, but it's not ready to be fixed. So, I only give it about 10 reps on weakside each time I practice atomic. On strongside, no such problem so I gave it a decent number of reps. Keep the set foot close to the ground, and close to the dex leg. High knee during dex. Exagerate the inward motion of the dex a little.
Worked spins some more too. Get the set foot down quickly, and get it down very close to other foot (keep footwork tight = better balance). Get head turning quickly. The leading shoulder (the one that goes "into" the spin first) feels like it dips when I do a good spin - I think I'm actually just staying nice and straight, but concentrating on that dip with the shoulder feel was helpful. Set the ball with lower leg, keep knee of that leg pinned in place and tight to support leg.
----
Before kicking, carved a pumpkin with the kids for halloween. they had a lot of fun doing that. Pumpkin turned out really great actually. Those little carving tools that they sell really work. Keegan said his favorite part was "pulling the guts out" of the pumpkin.
My mom, dad, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma, best friend will all be at my house by the time I'm home from work tonight. Wife and I, and sister and best friend will do trick or treating with the kids while the "elders" stay at my place to hand out candy to neighborhood kids. Just hanging out tomorrow with all of them. Emi's baptism on Sunday. Fun weekend.
Bob R.
Very fun, but extremely tiring weekend.
Friday during the day, my parents, my grandma, my sister, and my best friend arrived at my place (Emi's baptism was this weekend). While I was at work, they played with the kids. It was really warm out, so they ran the kids around the yard a lot - jumped in the leaves, had keegan drive his tractor etc.
Friday night, I got home from work, got changed, and got the kids ready for trick or treating. We have this great wagon that we got at a yard sale, so the kids piled in, and me, meg, best friend (pat), and sister (karen) took them around the neighborhood. Keegan was loving it. He really thinks he's spiderman when he has his costume on. Emi was wonder woman, and it was very cute.
By the time we got back to the house, kids were exhausted. Long day, big day for the little guys. Put them to bed, and the rest of us sat around the kitchen having some beers / wine and answering the door for the older set of trick or treaters in our neighborhood. Piggy was equally excited out of his mind every time someone came to the door, and each kid at the door was equally scared out of their minds at the sight of a 85 pound black lab charging them. Ha ha, he's harmless, but I can see why they'd feel that way.
Eventually, my folks and grandma went to the nearby hotel, and the "younger crowd" stayed up talking and having a few more drinks. I love having my best friend in town - he's the one guy I can just talk to endlessly. He's really more like a brother than anything. We had a great time.
Saturday, folks and grandma returned in the morning, and then my aunt and uncle and cousin (the one that had the cochlear implant awhile back) arrived around lunch time. More playing in the yard etc. Emi was really under the weather on this day, so she spent much of the day cuddled in my lap. She's normally mooving and grooving, so it wasn't a bad symptom (in my opinion) that she wanted to spend so much time with me.
Saturday night was like Friday night, but with an earlier bedtime since we had to go to church the following morning. Emi was up all night coughing, but her fever broke, so she felt nearly 100% by Sunday morning (thank goodness).
Sunday, we got everyone to the church for the baptism. Emi looked so pretty, I'll post pics soon. Keegan was an angel in church - very well behaved and so cute. He looked like a little man in his nice outfit. I'm not a big church guy, but the ceremony and service was very nice.
After church everyone already mentioned, plus everyone on meg's side of the family went back to our place for lunch, cake, and football. Keegan's cousin Timmy is a year older than Keegs, so they were immediately as thick as thieves playing batman and romping in the yard. Some of us played a few games of washers (and my uncle hit a stunning 2 cups, 1 box, turn to end the game). I played some 2 on 2 basketball with my cousin and 2 of my nephews. Naturally my teams won no matter what the teams were, and no matter how much I deferred to my team mate (my youngest nephew was on fire! he hit like 6 baskets for us the one game.. he really knows how to move without the ball even though he's only in like 4th grade). It was really fun.
Eventually meg's side of the family filtered out, and not long after, my family left for their long drive back to Pittsburgh. We put the kids to bed, and my sister, pat, meg and I watched fight club and got to bed early. And now I'm back at work.
Today is day 1 of no alcohol until Thanksgiving (about 4 weeks worth of no alcohol). I'll check in at the end of the period with a "how do I feel" and "how much do I weigh" status update. I suspect the answers will be "amazing" and "195 pounds".
Friday during the day, my parents, my grandma, my sister, and my best friend arrived at my place (Emi's baptism was this weekend). While I was at work, they played with the kids. It was really warm out, so they ran the kids around the yard a lot - jumped in the leaves, had keegan drive his tractor etc.
Friday night, I got home from work, got changed, and got the kids ready for trick or treating. We have this great wagon that we got at a yard sale, so the kids piled in, and me, meg, best friend (pat), and sister (karen) took them around the neighborhood. Keegan was loving it. He really thinks he's spiderman when he has his costume on. Emi was wonder woman, and it was very cute.
By the time we got back to the house, kids were exhausted. Long day, big day for the little guys. Put them to bed, and the rest of us sat around the kitchen having some beers / wine and answering the door for the older set of trick or treaters in our neighborhood. Piggy was equally excited out of his mind every time someone came to the door, and each kid at the door was equally scared out of their minds at the sight of a 85 pound black lab charging them. Ha ha, he's harmless, but I can see why they'd feel that way.
Eventually, my folks and grandma went to the nearby hotel, and the "younger crowd" stayed up talking and having a few more drinks. I love having my best friend in town - he's the one guy I can just talk to endlessly. He's really more like a brother than anything. We had a great time.
Saturday, folks and grandma returned in the morning, and then my aunt and uncle and cousin (the one that had the cochlear implant awhile back) arrived around lunch time. More playing in the yard etc. Emi was really under the weather on this day, so she spent much of the day cuddled in my lap. She's normally mooving and grooving, so it wasn't a bad symptom (in my opinion) that she wanted to spend so much time with me.
Saturday night was like Friday night, but with an earlier bedtime since we had to go to church the following morning. Emi was up all night coughing, but her fever broke, so she felt nearly 100% by Sunday morning (thank goodness).
Sunday, we got everyone to the church for the baptism. Emi looked so pretty, I'll post pics soon. Keegan was an angel in church - very well behaved and so cute. He looked like a little man in his nice outfit. I'm not a big church guy, but the ceremony and service was very nice.
After church everyone already mentioned, plus everyone on meg's side of the family went back to our place for lunch, cake, and football. Keegan's cousin Timmy is a year older than Keegs, so they were immediately as thick as thieves playing batman and romping in the yard. Some of us played a few games of washers (and my uncle hit a stunning 2 cups, 1 box, turn to end the game). I played some 2 on 2 basketball with my cousin and 2 of my nephews. Naturally my teams won no matter what the teams were, and no matter how much I deferred to my team mate (my youngest nephew was on fire! he hit like 6 baskets for us the one game.. he really knows how to move without the ball even though he's only in like 4th grade). It was really fun.
Eventually meg's side of the family filtered out, and not long after, my family left for their long drive back to Pittsburgh. We put the kids to bed, and my sister, pat, meg and I watched fight club and got to bed early. And now I'm back at work.
Today is day 1 of no alcohol until Thanksgiving (about 4 weeks worth of no alcohol). I'll check in at the end of the period with a "how do I feel" and "how much do I weigh" status update. I suspect the answers will be "amazing" and "195 pounds".
Bob R.
My wife Megan wrote this for a "Mom's Club Association" e-newsletter that they all contribute to. I thought she did a really nice job. Enjoy:
[quote]I have found that one of my favorite things about being a mom is having the chance to see life through my kids eyes -- a 1 year old daughter and 3 year old son to be exact.
For example, Halloween has taken on a whole new meaning in our house, that my husband and I haven’t experienced since we were kids. By the time you read this, Halloween will be over, but as I write, we are only a few days away from the “big nightâ€
[quote]I have found that one of my favorite things about being a mom is having the chance to see life through my kids eyes -- a 1 year old daughter and 3 year old son to be exact.
For example, Halloween has taken on a whole new meaning in our house, that my husband and I haven’t experienced since we were kids. By the time you read this, Halloween will be over, but as I write, we are only a few days away from the “big nightâ€
Bob R.
god, triple post today. whatever
had an interesting concept pop into my mind while researching something at work. I think it's because I've read a lot about the add system lately or something. again, whatever
thought it would be cool to pick a list of "commonly used" tricks (where commonly used = all tiltless, and the guiltless tricks you see in many/most circles). It would take some suspension of belief to pick the list, but it's reasonably doable.
That list would be circulated to players. Players would identify their skill level on their own copy of the list (i.e. tiltless, strong tiltless/some guiltless, guiltless, strong guiltless, genuine, bap.. or something like that).
Then each player would have 1 week to try every trick on the list 10 times on both sides. They'd record their success rate for each of the tricks (both sides) and submit the list back to the coordinator.
Once all results were in, I would find it interesting to see which tricks have a high success rate (overall, and amongst the player classifications). And even more interesting to compare that to the "implied" difficulty based on how many adds each of those tricks have. (don't say it.. I know that adds don't equal difficulty... but in practical use, many would say the opposite.. so for this exercise, just let it be so)
Don't know where it would go from there. Research has a way of leading to the next step naturally.
had an interesting concept pop into my mind while researching something at work. I think it's because I've read a lot about the add system lately or something. again, whatever
thought it would be cool to pick a list of "commonly used" tricks (where commonly used = all tiltless, and the guiltless tricks you see in many/most circles). It would take some suspension of belief to pick the list, but it's reasonably doable.
That list would be circulated to players. Players would identify their skill level on their own copy of the list (i.e. tiltless, strong tiltless/some guiltless, guiltless, strong guiltless, genuine, bap.. or something like that).
Then each player would have 1 week to try every trick on the list 10 times on both sides. They'd record their success rate for each of the tricks (both sides) and submit the list back to the coordinator.
Once all results were in, I would find it interesting to see which tricks have a high success rate (overall, and amongst the player classifications). And even more interesting to compare that to the "implied" difficulty based on how many adds each of those tricks have. (don't say it.. I know that adds don't equal difficulty... but in practical use, many would say the opposite.. so for this exercise, just let it be so)
Don't know where it would go from there. Research has a way of leading to the next step naturally.
Bob R.
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Frank_Sinatra
- Avenging Disco Godfather
- Posts: 1660
- Joined: 09 Jan 2007 12:43
- Location: Chicago, IL
Interesting idea (I'm saving you from quadruple posting 
)
Until a couple months ago I thought the ADD system could be fixed by differentiating between dexes & assigning a half ADD, full ADD, or ADD & 1/2 to each trick. My little scheme would've ditched PDX & XDEX. And while there would still be some inconsistencies & room for debate at least (I thought) it would be an improvement.
The problem is, fixing the system for individual moves is kind of like fixing a problem in a lab - does it apply to real world conditions? Everybody knows some links are harder than others, an individual trick based system ignores the difference between butterfly > whirl and osis > whirl.
So, yeah... I've come around to the idea that we can either have a 30 page manual full of actuary tables to calculate our tricks and every possible detail of difficulty, or we can let our intuition guide us in terms of what's hard, what's stylish, etc. From reading modified it seems most people here go for intuition, but some people LOVE rules, and in the end we just keep the same silly ass system in place.
Nice pics! I was going to use the word 'cute' but didn't want to come across like Pete Bowler. Hahahaha. JK Pete. I'd think herding cats would be pretty easy for you by now, with all your experience putting together freestyle events?
)Until a couple months ago I thought the ADD system could be fixed by differentiating between dexes & assigning a half ADD, full ADD, or ADD & 1/2 to each trick. My little scheme would've ditched PDX & XDEX. And while there would still be some inconsistencies & room for debate at least (I thought) it would be an improvement.
The problem is, fixing the system for individual moves is kind of like fixing a problem in a lab - does it apply to real world conditions? Everybody knows some links are harder than others, an individual trick based system ignores the difference between butterfly > whirl and osis > whirl.
So, yeah... I've come around to the idea that we can either have a 30 page manual full of actuary tables to calculate our tricks and every possible detail of difficulty, or we can let our intuition guide us in terms of what's hard, what's stylish, etc. From reading modified it seems most people here go for intuition, but some people LOVE rules, and in the end we just keep the same silly ass system in place.
Nice pics! I was going to use the word 'cute' but didn't want to come across like Pete Bowler. Hahahaha. JK Pete. I'd think herding cats would be pretty easy for you by now, with all your experience putting together freestyle events?
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bingchenzo
- Hack Fiend
- Posts: 34
- Joined: 08 Jun 2006 20:16
- Location: chocolate city
- Contact:
ads system idea, i like the research concept just cause it would get me to have a reason to really know my game better, instead of just what i want to hit or be better at, and it would be a reason for all of us geeks to talk more about what we love to talk about.
i agree, research generates it's own directions.
as for the ads system, i think it's worse than just a scenario of real world versus lab conditions, most notably because of the many new ways moves are hit. 'back in the day' when new moves were established by few people hitting them, there seemed to be a relative uniformity to what a move was and how it was done as each was created, now the new deal is taking new concepts and revisiting how to do old tricks as well as new ones. i'm trying to learn flux, i can try it using what used to be called a 'crispy' method, or alternatively 'original formula' or atomic style. three different ways to do the same move. some seem easier conceptually than others. depending on the strengths of the player, some could be way easier than others. i'm managing to suck equally well at all styles. flux is difficult for me.
aside from all this geekosity, and back to what matters...
great posts rob. meg, too. whenever i hear of one of my friends welcoming their first kid into the world i want to congratulate them for their newfound teacher.
i agree, research generates it's own directions.
as for the ads system, i think it's worse than just a scenario of real world versus lab conditions, most notably because of the many new ways moves are hit. 'back in the day' when new moves were established by few people hitting them, there seemed to be a relative uniformity to what a move was and how it was done as each was created, now the new deal is taking new concepts and revisiting how to do old tricks as well as new ones. i'm trying to learn flux, i can try it using what used to be called a 'crispy' method, or alternatively 'original formula' or atomic style. three different ways to do the same move. some seem easier conceptually than others. depending on the strengths of the player, some could be way easier than others. i'm managing to suck equally well at all styles. flux is difficult for me.
aside from all this geekosity, and back to what matters...
great posts rob. meg, too. whenever i hear of one of my friends welcoming their first kid into the world i want to congratulate them for their newfound teacher.
nathan wrote:
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Kicked last night. Had a lot of fun. I'd been off since last Thursday, which is a lot of rest for me, so my legs felt great. Harder links, faster legs, better form, great both sidedness. I was really very happy with it.
Shredding with Brian on Saturday
THANKS! It's been "crickets" in here for a long time. I see the views climbing, but no one ever wants to drop a comment. Woah is me.I'm saving you from quadruple posting
Any change to pick on Pete is 100% approved in this blogNice pics! I was going to use the word 'cute' but didn't want to come across like Pete Bowler
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Kicked last night. Had a lot of fun. I'd been off since last Thursday, which is a lot of rest for me, so my legs felt great. Harder links, faster legs, better form, great both sidedness. I was really very happy with it.
Shredding with Brian on Saturday
Bob R.
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slapdash21
- Futureless
- Posts: 4681
- Joined: 29 Sep 2004 14:50
- Location: Beantown, kidd
luckily google enables me to figure out what all these abbreviations mean. like, how on earth would you know otherwise? took me a year to figure out what lol means.
shredded in the barn last night. it was 65 degrees outside! nice night for shredding. Took it kind of easy to save some legs for Saturday with Brian.
I find myself jonesing for a beer tonight because of the usual pattern of no drinking on weekdays, drinking on weekends. But that's part of the point of not drinking for a month - to stop drinking as part of a pattern/habit, and instead drink for occassions etc. The other part is to kick start losing the next 5-10 pounds that I want to lose. So, resisting is good.
My parents are freaking out about McCain not winning. They are listening to all the BS from republican radion/TV and assigning 100% truth to all of it. Even saying stuff like "This won't be America anymore when they're through making all their changes"
shredded in the barn last night. it was 65 degrees outside! nice night for shredding. Took it kind of easy to save some legs for Saturday with Brian.
I find myself jonesing for a beer tonight because of the usual pattern of no drinking on weekdays, drinking on weekends. But that's part of the point of not drinking for a month - to stop drinking as part of a pattern/habit, and instead drink for occassions etc. The other part is to kick start losing the next 5-10 pounds that I want to lose. So, resisting is good.
My parents are freaking out about McCain not winning. They are listening to all the BS from republican radion/TV and assigning 100% truth to all of it. Even saying stuff like "This won't be America anymore when they're through making all their changes"
Bob R.
I feel like death.
Like a year ago, I proclaimed that I'd quit smoking. Then I was pretty quiet about saying anything about starting smoking again
So, this weekend was my re-quit weekend.
Plus, I have the cold from hell. Which is actually good timing because I never want to smoke when I'm sick anyways. And actually, I can't tell how much of my current state of assness is from withdrawal or from the cold. Whatever, ass it is, ass it is.
Plus plus, week 1 of no alcohol is over too. Boy, I'm a fucking saint I guess. No vices left. Mother effer am I in a pissy mood right now. Idiot fucking employees that work for me aren't helping.
I did shred yesterday despite the cold etc. Shredded with Brian. He's getting worse. He doesn't play as much as he used to, so he's less consistent, and he still has no idea what tricks are, or what it means to ramp up your game, so whatever, each of his runs is basically the same as the previous run and next run. But, it was still fun and good to see him. I shredded great. Pixie shuffle was solid, stepping set on both sides is there, good spins and ducks mixed in, some midrun atomic etc. Long, difficult, low-bops strings. Some harder stuff midrun too
Like a year ago, I proclaimed that I'd quit smoking. Then I was pretty quiet about saying anything about starting smoking again
So, this weekend was my re-quit weekend.
Plus, I have the cold from hell. Which is actually good timing because I never want to smoke when I'm sick anyways. And actually, I can't tell how much of my current state of assness is from withdrawal or from the cold. Whatever, ass it is, ass it is.
Plus plus, week 1 of no alcohol is over too. Boy, I'm a fucking saint I guess. No vices left. Mother effer am I in a pissy mood right now. Idiot fucking employees that work for me aren't helping.
I did shred yesterday despite the cold etc. Shredded with Brian. He's getting worse. He doesn't play as much as he used to, so he's less consistent, and he still has no idea what tricks are, or what it means to ramp up your game, so whatever, each of his runs is basically the same as the previous run and next run. But, it was still fun and good to see him. I shredded great. Pixie shuffle was solid, stepping set on both sides is there, good spins and ducks mixed in, some midrun atomic etc. Long, difficult, low-bops strings. Some harder stuff midrun too
Bob R.
1. Good luck quitting smoking. That can only help your game. For real, I have enough trouble regulating my breathing and stamina during a run, and I don't smoke.
2. Props on 1 week without alcohol. I've been cutting back a lot too, and I noticed that its hardest in the beginning. I also noticed that my last 2 sessions I played a lot better, but I don't know if I'm ready to attribute that to anything yet. But similar to point #1, cutting back on booze can't hurt your game, only help it.
3.
4. Sometimes you comment about the number of responses you get in your blog. I just wanted to let you know that even though I don't post here everytime I come around, I do read your blog everyday. It's actually probably the blog I read the most.
2. Props on 1 week without alcohol. I've been cutting back a lot too, and I noticed that its hardest in the beginning. I also noticed that my last 2 sessions I played a lot better, but I don't know if I'm ready to attribute that to anything yet. But similar to point #1, cutting back on booze can't hurt your game, only help it.
3.
Looking back on the last 8 years, I feel like a lot of the changes Bush pushed through (or tried to push through) made it feel like it "wasn't America anymore" to me. The America I grew up loving didn't torture people, didn't start pre-emptive wars against countries that didn't threaten us, didn't try to kill social security, and didn't try to demonize half the nation ("this is the real America. This is the pro-America part of America. Etc."). I think many Republicans would agree with me on these points.Rieferman wrote: My parents are freaking out about McCain not winning. They are listening to all the BS from republican radion/TV and assigning 100% truth to all of it. Even saying stuff like "This won't be America anymore when they're through making all their changes"
4. Sometimes you comment about the number of responses you get in your blog. I just wanted to let you know that even though I don't post here everytime I come around, I do read your blog everyday. It's actually probably the blog I read the most.